True Life, True Grit: Achieve the Honorable

Former U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton discusses his new memoir Achieve the Honorable in a public conversation with library director Crosby Kemper III.

Achieve the Honorable is the story of how Skelton, a native of Lexington, Missouri, overcame boyhood polio to launch a career on Capitol Hill. Along the way, the book provides glimpses into the lives of political titans like Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton, and treats readers to Skelton’s engaging humor and shrewd political insight.

Skelton served as U.S. Representative for Missouri’s 4th Congressional District from 1977–2011, and was known as a bipartisan negotiator and a champion of the Armed Services who helped reform the Department
of Defense.